OCTOBER 2012
Keith
SticKley
MagIC - UNITY - MIgHT
editor
Michael Close
editor emeritus
David goodsell
Associate editor
W.S. Duncan
Proofreader & copy editor
Lindsay Smith
Art Director
Lisa Close
Publisher
Society of american Magicians,
6838 N. alpine Dr.
Parker, CO 80134
Copyright © 2012
Subscription is through membership in the Society and annual dues of $65, ofwhich $40 is for 12 issues of M-U-M. all inquiries concerning membership, change of address, and missing or replacement issues
should be addressed to:
Manon Rodriguez, National administrator P.O. Box 505, Parker, CO 80134
[email protected] Skype: manonadmin Phone: 303-362-0575
Fax: 303-362-0424 Send assembly reports to:
[email protected] For advertising information, reservations, and placement contact:
Mona S. Morrison, M-U-M advertising Manager
645 Darien Court, Hoffman Estates, IL 60169 Email: [email protected]
Telephone/fax: (847) 519-9201
Editorial contributions and correspondence concerning all content and advertising
should be addressed to the editor: Michael Close - Email: [email protected]
Phone: 317-456-7234
Submissions for the magazine will
only be
accepted by email or fax.
ViSit the S.A.M. WeB Site
www.magicsam.com
To access “Members Only” pages:
Enter your
Name and Membership number
OCTOBER 2012
M-U-M (ISSN 00475300 USPS 323580) is published monthly for $40 per year by The Society of American Magicians,
6838 N. Alpine Dr., Parker, CO 80134 . Periodical postage paid at Parker, CO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to M-U-M, c/o Manon Rodriguez, P.O. Box 505, Parker, CO 80134.
Volume 102 • Number 5
COLUMNISTS
THIS MONTH’S FEATURES
S.A.M. NEWS
6 From the Editor’s Desk
8 From the President’s Desk
11 M-U-M Assembly News
22 New Members & Reinstatements
23 S.A.M. Spotlight
23 Good Cheer List
24 National Council Meeting Minutes
69 Our Advertisers
28 A Magician Prepares • by Dennis Loomis
36 COVER STORY • by Doc Dixon
42 2012 S.A.M. Convention Coverage
52 Magic From Scotland • Edited by Ian Kendall
55 Salon de Magie • by Ken Klosterman
58 Nielsen Gallery • by Tom Ewing
60 Informed Opinion • New Product Reviews
68 Basil the Baffling • by Alan Wassilak
32 Stage 101 • by Levent
34 Ellipsis • by Michael Perovich
51 Tech Tricks • by Bruce Kalver
56 I Left My Cards at Home • by Steve Marshall
69 Inside Straight • by Norman Beck
68 The Dean’s Diary • by George Schindler
70 Confessions of a Paid Amateur • by Rod Danilewicz
Magazine
M-U-M
55
42
58
ON THE COVER
PAGE 36Cover Photo by John Juritech
Editor’s Desk
The fellow eating fire for your entertainment pleasure (and kids, don’t try this at home) on the cover of this month’s M-U-M is Keith Stickley. I first met Keith some years ago at a gathering of the Gary Darwin magic club in Las Vegas. We both subsequently moved from Vegas, so I haven’t seen Keith in a while. I knew that he performed around the world and that he was currently working on a law degree, but what I didn’t know about was his avid interest in a vintage form of entertainment called the spook show. As you’ll read in the cover story by Doc Dixon, Keith has expended considerable time, energy, and money to recreate an authentic spook show experience.
This issue also contains coverage of the S.A.M. national con-vention in Las Vegas; you’ll find reports by PNP Bruce Kalver and Christian Painter, and photos by Dale Farris. The dealers are a big part of any convention, and we send our thanks to those who participated: Astor Magic (www.astormagic.com), BJW Magical Jewelers (www.bjwmagicaljewelers.com), Card Shark (www.card-shark.de), David Cresey Products (www. cresey.com), Custom Magic Cards (www.custommagiccards. com), Daytona Magic (www.daytonamagic.com), Fantasio (www.fantasio.com), Fantasma (www.fantasmamagic.com), Fanastic Magic Company (www.fantasticmagic.com), David Goodsell (www.davidgoodsellmagic.com) Flip Disc Productions (www.flipdisc.com), Andy Greget Books (602-404-3100),
Genii Magazine (www.geniimagazine.com), Paul Hallas
(www.paulhallas.com), High End Magic (www.highendmagic. com), Houdini Magic (www.houdini.com), Hughes Magic (www. hughesmagic.com), Japan/Hawaii Silk Magic, Kozmo (www. kozmomagic.com), Meir Yedid (www.mymagic.com), Michael P. Lair (www.lairmagic.com), Bob Little (215-672-3344), Losander (www.losander.me), MAGIC Magazine (www.magicmagazine. com), Magic Smith (www.magicsmith.com), Nielsen Magic (www.nnmagic.com), SEO Magic (www.seomagic-usa.com), and SWC Magic (717-292-5305). Please visit their websites. Your support of M-U-M advertisers is important to the success of the magazine.
At the national council meeting in Las Vegas, the council unanimously elected Joshua Jay as our newest S.A.M. Ambassa-dor of Magic. (AmbassaAmbassa-dors are tasked with spreading the word about the S.A.M. to others around the world. Our other ambas-sadors are David Copperfield, Lance Burton, and Brad Jacobs.) Congratulations Joshua! The S.A.M. is proud to have you as an ambassador and we are confident that you will do an outstanding job.
Producer John Apperson has announced that former magic dealer Al Cohen will be the honoree at the Society of American Magicians annual convention, July 3-6, 2013. Al has the reputa-tion of having been the best and most honest magic demonstrator in the country. He closed Al’s Magic Shop in 2004. The Wash-ington, DC, convention will be held at the Marriott Hotel Crystal
Gateway in Arlington, Virginia.
From Technical Chairman Bruce Kalver comes this important information: “When the S.A.M. switched over to the new website, all of your previous passwords were supposed to move over. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. We now have a problem with members trying to get on and their password is not working. We do not know which ones are not working. We have a fix but we can’t help you unless you write to us and tell us that your password doesn’t work. Email your full name as it appears on your membership card and we will do the fix and write back to you. Send your request for help to me at [email protected] and use PASSWORD PROBLEM in the subject line. Remember that we need your name as it appears on your card.”
Also on the S.A.M. website (www.magicsam.com) is a section with blogs written by experts in many different areas of magic. You’ll find posts by PNP Bruce Kalver on tech tricks, David Kaye (Silly Billy) on kids’ magic, and George Saterial on stage magic. The best part of the blogs is that they are interactive. You can comment, discuss, ask questions, and share with both the original writers of the articles and with all S.A.M. compeers. Be sure to check the site often for the latest posts and comments.
The Whittier Museum and the Society of American Magicians are currently presenting “Behind the Smoke and Mirrors.” The exhibit, which explores the history of magic and illusion, opened in September in Whittier, California. The collection includes illusions, props, costumes, posters, and photographs selected from the archives of The Society of American Magicians Magic Hall of Fame and Museum. The exhibit will continue until July of 2013. For more information go to www.whittiermuseum.org or call 562-945-3871.
My old friend Max Maven wrote to point out an error in the September “Treasures from the Salon Magie” column. Near the end of that column, a reference is made to Bernard “Ackero” Whitman. Bernie Whitman, a high school teacher by profession, did an elaborate Chinese act as a semi-pro, but he used the stage name “Fu Ling.” “Ackero” was Louis Ackerman, who was also from Massachusetts. He also did a Chinese act.
At the end of August, Lisa, Ava, and I drove up near Haliburton, Ontario, to spend a few days at the Sorcerers Safari magic camp. (Mike Segal, founder of the camp, was the subject of our May cover story.) I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but at the end of our three-day visit, I was blown away by the experi-ence. Campers had the opportunity to interact with three FISM champions (Soma, Shawn Farquhar, and Greg Frewin), who were part of a talented staff that included Lee Asher, Aaron Fisher, Ben Train, Eric Leclerc, Johnny Toronto, and Nathan Kranzo. I can’t wait to go back next year.
Chris Bontjes
President’s Desk
President’s Desk
lAS VegAS
Now that we have made it to the convention issue of M-U-M, let me again say, “Wow! What a convention!” The lectures, the shows, the dealers, and the fellowship were outstanding. Those who attended can use this issue to reminisce. Those who were unable to attend can get an idea of what they missed.
Either way, I encourage all compeers to mark your calendars and plan to attend our 2013 convention in Arlington, Virginia (just outside Washington, D.C.). The committee is already hard at work planning another week of incredible shows, lectures, and other events. Save money by registering early.
coNVeNtioN DeAlerS
You will find ads in this issue for the dealers from our Las Vegas convention. Please contact them and thank them for supporting the S.A.M. While you are at it, mention their ad in
M-U-M. Telling our advertisers that you saw their ad helps to
ensure future ads. This helps to support the S.A.M. and M-U-M, and keeps you informed about new products as they are released.
ABBott’S get-together
The week following the S.A.M. convention in Las Vegas, I travelled to Colon, Michigan, for the seventy-fifth annual Get-To-gether. During the Get-Together, I had the opportunity to talk to many magicians about the many benefits of S.A.M. membership, including the quality of our conventions and our magazine. I
also had the opportunity to represent the S.A.M. by recognizing people and events.
I presented a Presidential Certificate of Recognition to Abbott’s Magic for reaching the milestone of seventy-five con-secutive Get-Togethers. Past I.B.M. President June Horowitz presented a similar certificate on behalf of the I.B.M.
I presented two Presidential Citations to outstanding compeers as well. The first was to Adele Friel Rhindress, assistant to Harry Blackstone Sr., for helping to preserve the history of magic in her book, Memoirs of an Elusive Moth. The second was to legendary magician Eugene Burger in recognition of his life-long mission to help other magicians elevate and advance their art.
WeeKeND of WoNDer
As soon as we arrived home from Abbott’s, we began packing for the Weekend of Wonder in Warwick, Rhode Island. This was an incredible event for all involved. All the mentors involved (PNP Jann Goodsell, PNP Bruce Kalver, PNP George Schindler, PNP Ed Thomas, PNP Rich Dooley, National Treasurer Eric Lampert, UK Deputy Mandy Davis, Connecticut Deputy Dana Ring, Margaret Steele, and David Oliver, in addition to my wife and myself) donated their time and talents to pass on the tradi-tions and techniques of magic to young people.
This type of dedication to the art and to our youth creates its own kind of magic. I think I speak for my fellow mentors as well as myself when I say that the looks of excitement, amazement, and appreciation in the faces of our young participants and their parents constituted payment in full for our time and efforts. This was a textbook example of what can happen when people choose to Get Involved and Pass It On!
MAgic WeeK
Don’t forget to send a note to Magic Week Chair Jeff Sikora ([email protected]) to let him know what your assembly is doing (or has done) in the spirit of National Magic Week. Remember that Magic Week is simply the time we celebrate a year of chari-table work and donations of our time and talent. Take a few moments to brag about the ways that you and your assembly get
involved, and Jeff will pass it on to compeers around the world.
NAtioNAl couNcil iN iNDiANAPoliS
On November 10, the national council will have its fall meeting at the Marriott Hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana. Meetings are open to all compeers. If you have never attended a council meeting, I encourage you to check it out. The number of programs, commit-tees, and people who are working to improve the S.A.M. and its offerings for you is staggering.
Not from the Midwest, or can’t make it that weekend? You can also stay up to date on the activities and programs of the S.A.M. by reading the Blue Book (the book of committee reports – now a downloadable PDF file rather than an actual book). You can find a copy on the S.A.M. website. (Just sign in, go to the member’s home page, and click the “Downloads” link.) You can also read the minutes of all our meetings right here in M-U-M.
echoeS of the PASt
The following is from PNP J. Gary Bontjes’s report on Abbott’s in his November 1971 “The Prez Sez” column in M-U-M. “We saw some terrific shows and met lots of magicians who wanted to know more about the S.A.M. We personally talked to more than one hundred magicians, each of whom received a free copy of
M-U-M with an S.A.M. application inside. A few were signed up
June Horowitz,Chris Bontjes, and Greg Bordner
With Eugene Burger Adele receiving citation
on the spot and others indicated a definite interest.”
This passage stands out to me because of the effort involved in spreading the word about the S.A.M., and also because of its continued relevance. The S.A.M. continues today because compeers spread the word to other magicians. Not all of them will sign up immediately, but sharing information about the S.A.M. can only help our Society to grow.
Spreading the word is easier than ever.
Our website contains a great deal of infor-mation about the S.A.M., its history, and its benefits. Applications and a sample copy of M-U-M are available for download.
Tell every magician you meet about the S.A.M. Point them toward our website, a copy of the magazine, and an applica-tion. Help them to grow in magic and help the S.A.M. to grow. In other words – Get Involved, and Pass It On!
Photos by David Linsell
S.A.M. National Officers
Dean: George Schindler, 1735 East 26th St.,
Brooklyn, NY 11229, (718) 336-0605, Fax (718) 627-1397, [email protected]
President: J. Christopher Bontjes, 2313
Atwood Ct., Danville, IL 61834 (217) 442-6244 [email protected]
President Elect: Dal Sanders, 3316 Northaven Rd,
Dallas, TX 75229 (214) 902-9200, DalSanders@ StagemMagic.com
First Vice President: Kenrick “ICE”
McDonald, P.O. Box 341034, Los Angeles, CA 90034, (310) 559-8968
Second Vice President: David Bowers, (717)
414-7574, [email protected]
Secretary: Marlene Clark, 274 Church Street, #6B
Guilford, CT 06437, (203) 689-5730, Skype: marlene.clark, [email protected]
Treasurer: Eric Lampert, (215) 939-5555,
[email protected] Regional Vice Presidents New England: CT MA RI NH ME VT Joseph Caulfield (603) 654-6022, [email protected] North Atlantic: NY NJ Eric DeCamps, (718) 896-5861, [email protected]
Mid Atlantic: PA DE MD VAWV DC
Phil Milstead, (703) 481-5271, [email protected] South Atlantic: FL AL GA MS NC SC Debbie Leifer (404) 630-1120 [email protected] Central Plains: KY TN OH IN MI
Jania Taylor, (231)242-8242, [email protected]
Midwest: IL MN WI MO ND NE KS SD IA
Shaun Rivera, (618) 781-8621 shaun.rivera@ gmail.com
South Cental States: TX AR OK NM LA
Jeff Lanes, (713)850-1770, [email protected]
Southwest: CA AZ NV HI
Ron Ishimar, (808) 456-2780, aliai@hawaiiantel. net Northwest: WA OR UT ID CO AK WY MT Michael Roth, (503)493-8316, [email protected] Canada Rod Chow (604) 669-7777 [email protected]
Society of Young Magicians Director
Jann Wherry Goodsell, 329 West 1750 North, Orem, Utah 84057 (801) 376-0353. [email protected]
Living Past National Presidents
Bradley M. Jacobs, Richard L. Gustafson, Roy A. Snyder, Bruce W. Fletcher, James E. Zachary, David R. Goodsell, Robert A. Steiner, Fr. Cyprian Murray, Michael D. Douglass, George Schindler, Dan Rodriguez, Dan Garrett, Donald F. Oltz Jr., Craig Dickson, Loren C. Lind, Gary D. Hughes, Harry Monti, Jann Wherry Goodsell, Warren J. Kaps, Ed Thomas, Jay Gorham, John Apperson, Richard M. Dooley, Andy Dallas, Maria Ibáñez, Bruce Kalver, Mike Miller, Mark Weidhaas, Vinny Grosso
Warehouse sale!
Every couple of years, we throw a “little” convention here in Las Vegas. And when we do, we create special promotional items. After the convention, we offer whatever stock we still have for sale. Here are a couple of great items to add to your gift list from MAGIC Live 2009 and 2011.
6220 Stevenson Way, Las Vegas, NV 89120 (702) 798-0099, ext. 103
www.MAGICmagazine.com
MAGIC Magazine
Outlet Store
No compartments, no pens, no straps, no staples to remove — just a cool 7- x 9-inch pad for your mouse! MAGIC Magazine
Mouse Pad
$
6
(postage paid in the US)This custom computer bag measures 14 x 15 inches, with compartments for pens, phone, business cards, and even a water bottle. Comes in black with maroon flap, tan embroidery, adjustable shoulder strap, and even a MAGIC “M” zipper tab.
MAGIC Magazine
Messenger Bag
(2009) (postage paid in the US)(postage paid in the US)
Our bonded-leather padfolio is one of the nicest pieces ever! It measures just over 10 x 13 inches, and is zippered all the way around. Inside you’ll find another zippered pocket, plus sleeves for papers and business cards. And it comes with a letter-size pad and a MAGIC Magazine pen. This padfolio has the MAGIC logo “debossed” in black, as well as MAGIC Live! laser engraved on the metal tab.
MAGIC Magazine
ASSEMBLY NEWS
OCTOBER 2012 Volume 102, Number 5
Society of American Magicians Monthly News
7
Boystown Magic week and a Bonus
Omaha, NE— Although this is not the time period generally devoted to Magic Week, the Omaha Magical Society had its annual picnic at Boystown, Nebraska, and donated a buf-fet-picnic at “Hogwarts Hall” (otherwise known as the Great Hall). First came the scrumptious buffet; the expert cooks came up with the side dishes and desserts to accompany the provided chicken.
Jeff Sikora introduced the per-formers: himself, Dean Walter Graham, Neil Bable, Joe “Magic,” and Pete (the near) Great Petrashek . As good as the performers were, one would be easily impressed by the manners of the Boystown residents. After the show they were treated to a first time “cotton candy levitation.” (You heard it here first, folks.) It was fun to watch the product sailing through the air. I don’t know how the lucky audience is selected, but the crew at Boystown is certainly doing some magic with these young people. I’m sure all look forward to Magic Week at Boystown.
As a bonus this month, we also had a lecture by Cody Fisher from Austin, Texas. He impressed us as a very personable and talented performer and the 2½ hours flew by as if only thirty minutes. His pre-sentation included his restaurant opener, the slip force (including the Mercury Card Fold), the pen through a $50 bill, his Rat Trap gimmick, Birthday Card trick, and how to cheat at cards. Each one of these effects was laced with en-tertaining comments that kept the audience’s attention. (And if you started to “tail off,” the Rat Trap brought you back in.)
After intermission (I finally won a door prize!) he demonstrated a variation of Dai Vernon’s Twisting the Aces. He finished the lecture with the Champagne Predic-tion (producing a signed card in
a glass) and finally the Tossed Out Deck, offering his own little twist. Although the evening started with my wondering who he was, when he finished I wondered why we haven’t heard more from him. The audience showed their approval with the appropriate applause at the end. —Jerry Golmanavich
We meet at the Southwest Church of Christ near 124th St. and West Center Road- right across from Hooters. Contact jerry golmanavich golubki@ cox.net (402) 390-9834 omahamagicalsociety.com for more details.
11
diaMond JiM tyler lecture
CiNCiNNati, Oh— Leland Pennington opened the meeting by commenting that this was the nintieth year for Assembly 11 (Queen City Mystics). Our original charter was signed by and presented to our assembly by Houdini when he appeared in Cincinnati over ninety years ago. Don Hinton also discussed the upcoming magic show on September 21, at 7:30 p.m. cele-brating our ninety years of magic. The show will be emceed by Artie Kidwell and have the following performers: Don Hinton, Denny Metz, Leland Pennington, Bill Pryor, and Patrick Thernes.
The lecturer for the evening was Diamond Jim Tyler – a clever and entertaining Texan from Dallas. His first effect was Dia Monte. This was a Three-card Monte trick using Jokers and a Queen. The spectator was shown the cards face up and asked to locate the queen when they were turned over. On each occasion the card was a Joker. In the final iteration, all three cards were Jokers and were handed out. Jim then demon-strated how to keep the liquid in a Red Bull container when it was turned upside down and how to use a simple gimmick to demon-strate anti-gravity using a bottle of water turned upside down. His magnetic half dollars trick was done by using some simple moves as well as using credit cards. He demonstrated his coin through cup (with helper Nicholas Steins) using his muscle pass.
Diamond Jim then presented his haunted/animated card box routine that was truly magical. It moves, spins, opens, and stands up! Spellbound was just that spell-binding. A black stone turns clear and then back to black and then clear again. It is then examined by the spectator. His ring on a string (leather) is a classic routine that is not difficult to do with some practice. He then showed us his robotic hand that could be clas-sified as bizarre but worth the price of admission. Sentimental postcards is a mentalism routine with heart. This was a great and truly entertaining lecture. —John Martini
Queen City Mystics, SAM Assembly 11 generally meets on the 2nd Friday of the month at Haines House of Cards in Cincin-nati, Ohio.
13
MentalisM Panel
Dallas, tX— President Mark Jensen called the meeting to order, welcoming everyone to Wizards Sports Café. Mark began with
a book report, highlighting the new Definitive Sankey three-vol-ume set published by Vanishing Inc. The books contain over five hundred of Sankey’s effects and include essays from Sankey’s book Beyond Secrets. Included in the third volume is a DVD dem-onstrating some of the editors’ favorite effects. Overall, the set is very well done, with something in it for every type of magician.
Dr. Mike Smith also did a brief report on a recent article in Genii magazine, titled “Pick a Card, Not Any Card” by Jay Olson. The article details the psychological mechanisms behind the selection of a card by a spectator. Mike also reported on the comic book series
Smoke and Mirrors by IDW
pub-lishing, available in both paper and digital formats.
After a short break, Geoff Grimes performed a series of mind-reading effects with playing cards and the assistance of Cinde Sanders. Geoff first asked Cinde to cut a deck of cards and, without looking at the deck, to take the top card and reverse it within the deck. Without touching the deck, Geoff was able to discern which card was reversed. Geoff asked Cinde to cut to two new cards, which were placed in her right and left back pockets. Geoff was then able to determine the identities of the two cards and the correct pocket location. Finally, using a jumbo deck of cards, Geoff asked Cinde to reach into the deck and select a cluster of cards. Geoff then correctly identified each of the cards in her hand.
The next performer was Chris Hoffheins. Taking headlines from the most unbiased source of news,
The World Weekly News, Chris
asked Brian O’Neill to call out stop as he shuffled through the headlines. The selected headline was “Duck Hunter Shoots Angel.” An envelope safeguarded by Mark Jensen was opened to reveal the correctly predicted headline.
After the performances, the members were engaged in a panel
Go to:
www.mum-maGazine.com
and use the easy submission form to file your report
Assembly News
discussion on mentalism. The panel was composed of David Magee, Ted Gillam, and Mark Jensen, and was moderated by Dr. Mike Smith. Topics included: What is the difference between mentalism and mental magic? Do you use disclaimers? What power/ skill/ability are you demonstrat-ing? What are your recommended resources for mentalism? Is there room for comedy in mentalism? The responses were insightful and somewhat varied between the panelists, which made for an engaging discussion.
The Dallas Magic Clubs meet on the third Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM at Crosspointe Community Center in Carroll-ton, TX (see www.dallasmagic. org for directions). Contact Reade Quinton reade.quinton@ gmail.com (972) 4000195 www.dallasmagic.org for more details.
17
a sizzling suMMer
spriNgfiElD, ma— This was the month for picnicking and magic. We held our Summer Sizzler get-together at Look Park in Northampton, Massachusetts. We had a fantastic day. The grill was hot with burgers and dogs and all kinds of snacks, sides, and desserts. Dave Dimock brought his latest batch of homemade brew that rivaled the local kegs. Later we shared some magic and thanked President Rich Gilbert for arranging the event. We were able to get Steve Beam to visit for a spell and lecture about card magic. He showed us some different ways to cut and produce cards. His patter was really great. There were tricks for the not so skilled, like myself, that really packed a punch. We also held a fund-raising event at the Westover Air Show in Chicopee, MA. Thanks to our many members who volunteered their time for this two-day event, we have added to our coffers so we can have more lectures and get-togethers. A special thanks to Len Nadeau for his help in orga-nizing this event. We are already planning some great lectures for the fall. Hope to see you at the next meeting to share in all the fun. —Karen L. Gibson
Dr. I.R. Calkins Assembly 17 meets the first Friday of every month at 7 pm at Pinsonnault
Moto-X-Equipment, 69 East Street, Ludlow, MA Contact Rich Gilbert rgilbertmagic@ yahoo.com (413) 2105725 www. assembly17.org for more details.
19
Busy Meeting
hOustON, tX – The August meeting was a busy one. The TAOM convention to be held over Labor Day weekend here in Houston was on everybody’s mind. Everything is coming together and there is a lot of activity going on. This is going to be a great conven-tion with lots of talent and magic.
The teach-in session this month was a talk by Doug Kornegay about his early years in the school show magic business. Doug’s first paid show was around 1943 as a kid in school. He ended up working ex-tensively around the Houston area for HISD. Shows back then were a nickel, but no child was really ever turned away. By age sixteen Doug was managing a theater in the Houston area. He was going to school and performing shows during the day and managing the theater at night. He later worked for Duncan Yo-Yos and worked his magic there as well. It sounds as though Doug has been around the school show circuit for a while. It was great to listen to his stories; we hope to hear more of them in the future.
We again had numerous perfor-mances at this month’s meeting. Johan McElroy, Gene Protas, David Rangel, Jamie Salinas, Alex Rangel, Randy Stulken, Mark Melcher, Jesse Rubio, and Frank Price all performed for the group. We wish to thank them all. — Miles Root
Assembly 19 meets the first Monday of every month at the IATSE Local 51 Meeting Hall, 3030 North Freeway, Houston, TX. A teaching lecture begins at 7:30 pm with the meeting beginning at 8:00 pm.
21
suMMer doldruMs
hartfOrD, Ct— The sale of David Oliver wristbands at the Vegas convention was very suc-cessful. We’ve raised over $1800 so far. After the business meeting, we were able to see a copy of a video sent to Oliver done by
several SYMers.
Dana Ring reported that he had attended the Weekend of Wonder for S.Y.M. members in Warwick, Rhode Island, that weekend. He was honored to be part of the “teaching staff,” demonstrating Professor’s Nightmare and giving each attendee his/her own set of ropes. For tonight’s group, he performed one of the tricks that the SYMers had learned during the convention: The Old Ten-Card Trick, wherein the magician is able to repeatedly tell how many cards a spectator has moved in a small packet.
Soll Levine produced a solid ball out of a tiny card case. He also showed us an appearing cue stick. —Dana T. Ring
Assembly 21 meets at 289 South Main Street, West Hartford, CT 06107. Contact Dana T. Ring dana@ danaring.com (860) 523-9888 www.ctmagic.org for more details.
22
Martin lewis lectures
lOs aNgElEs,Ca— August 20, 2012, was a warm evening in a string of very warm days in Los Angeles. It was also the evening of the Martin Lewis lecture. Origi-nally scheduled to lecture in May, a minor injury to his hand prevented the performance of magic and necessitated a rescheduling. For-tunately this assembly meeting date fell between cruise ship per-formances for Lewis. Because of the lecture, a number of magician guests were present. Assembly President Jim Callen, after a few of his jokes, quickly dispatched with routine assembly business so the lecture could begin.
The first part of the lecture was stand-up material that included several signature Martin Lewis presentations. Included were Tech-nicolor Prediction, Crystal Gazing (a selected card divination), and the Egg Bag. Lewis uses a Senor Mardo-style bag and performs a very entertaining routine. Lewis has the bags nicely made to his specifications and offers them for sale. Lewis performed his classic Cardiographic, but in a version that produced a rabbit emerging from a top hat. Closing the first half of the lecture was a nice story-telling effect with a selected card appearing in a bottle contained within two nested cigar boxes.
A break in the lecture gave
everyone a chance to enjoy the large selection of foods and treats always provided by Corinne Murphy, assembly hospitality chairperson. The lecture resumed with primarily close-up magic, although much of it could be used stand-up. A quick opening comedy bit with The Big Switch was performed to reveal a selected card. Business Card Cardiograph-ic was demonstrated with several ideas to get your business card to a spectator. Comeback Card was an effect similar to Carl Germain’s Flash Change (see Tarbell Vol. 4). Martin Lewis performed his improved classic Sidewalk Shuffle, did a comedy gambling demonstration, and concluded with the McAbee Linking Rings.
This was a great lecture, full of information and performance advice using some very entertain-ing props and materials. Martin Lewis had most of the props he used available for purchase along with lecture notes on CD and his 1985 book, Martin’s Miracles. The book also does contain a number of the Martin Lewis signature effects. As always, the hour was late before the sales table emptied and the last of our members departed the hall. —Steven L. Jennings
Southern California Assembly 22 meets the third Monday each month at 8:00 PM, Saint Thomas Moore Parish Hall, 2510 South Fremont Avenue; Alhambra, California Contact Ed Thomas [email protected] (213) 382-8504 for more details.
30
JaM it uP
atlaNta, ga— Emcee Debbie Leifer introduced Dan Garrett, who did a rather quick Flash Finger. Glad he kept it brief!
Matt Baker, back home from a year at Berkeley, showed us how Jokers from one deck know information about other decks. He asked John Miller to make a sandwich of Jokers from a red deck. A card was selected from the blue deck and the Jokers removed from the blue deck. Matt waved the red Jokers over the blue deck and the selected card appeared between the Jokers.
Joe Turner performed a mi-raculous feat of card memory. He had cards cut into even packets and shuffled. Several people had
Assembly News
packets of cards and Joe told each of them the cards in their pack. Great!
Tim Wolfe demonstrated the strength of paper money. Since there are fibers imbedded in the bill, he could stick a pencil through a bill covered with plain paper. The plain paper ripped, but the bill remained solid.
Dan Garrett used the four Aces as bullets, a la Dirty Harry, inserting the cards randomly. He cut the deck into four piles. The piles were exchanged and three cards were dealt in place, then the rest of the cards were distributed to the other piles. Each pile was distributed in the same manner. An audience member chose a lucky number and in the end, the top card of each pile was the lucky number card.
Our program for the evening was a jam session. Dan Garrett began by teaching the effect he had just performed. Merritt Ambrose taught a trick he had tried earlier in the evening that had failed, but he was able to successfully perform it (the Tuesday night curse strikes!). Joe Turner showed an easy peek of a card. Matt Baker taught an impromptu card trick. John Miller ended the evening with a mini lecture on Twisting the Aces. —Carol Garrett
Assembly 30 meets the second Tuesday of the month at Picadilly Cafeteria, I-85/North Druid Hills Road, Atlanta, Georgia.
31
Magicians’ choice at asseMBly 31
iNDiaNapOlis, iN— The theme for the August 6, 2012, meeting of the Harry Riser Assembly was “Magicians’ Choice.” The choices turned out to be most interesting and abundant. Nine magicians performed.
Jim Croop, who also served as our master of ceremonies, began the evening with his version of Paul Gordon’s Psychotronic Rides Again. Jack Weigle then took a deck of cards and did two effects. The first one was It’s Up His Sleeve by William Zavis, found in Divers Deceits (1973). The second was Jay Sankey’s Outsider from his DVD Sankey’s Best Card Magic. Gerry Thompson demon-strated his newly obtained “Sixth Sense” effect. He asked the club members for assistance in devel-oping a story to go with the effect.
Jay Newby performed the Johnny Thompson version of the Endless Chain or Fast and Loose. Daniel Lee did a nice rendition of Oz Pearlman’s Clutch. Taylor Martin used fifty-year-old slates to do the Spirit Slates. The slates were sold to him in Canada by a toy merchant who said he got them from a school in Ontario. And finally, Michael Ray did his version of Calin Merelli’s Dress Code.
It was a fun evening with much magic as each performer did one of his favorites. —Dale Benson
Assembly 31 meets the first Monday of the month at 7:00 pm. If the first Monday conflicts with a holiday weekend, we postpone the meeting by one week. Unless otherwise announced the meeting location is the Irvington United Methodist Church, 30 Audubon Road on the east side of the city. See our website for details. Contact Steve Spence sspence@ mediationalternative.com (317) 507-4534 www.sam31.com for more details
35
synchronized Magic BecoMes newest olyMPic
eVent
pOughkEEpsiE, NY— A little bit of rain didn’t detract from a fabulous afternoon of magic at our annual BBQ. Joel Zaritsky and his wife Nadine once again hosted this spectacular annual event. After consuming an amazing variety of food, we were enter-tained by a diverse selection of magic. Joel converted his living room into a theater and performed his interpretation of the currently popular Gypsy Thread routine using a balloon as a wonderful variation on this classic. Derrin Berger and his wife Deanna performed a synchronized card trick. She nailed it, but Derrin was a little off. With practice and stronger concentration on their
Olympic dreams, they’ll defi-nitely be the gold medal favorites in Brazil. Ed Fitchett pulled out a great old horn effect that had all of us laughing. Sam Patton and Les Muldorf each performed a few favorites. A few hours after the party began, there were still a number of discussions occurring throughout the house ranging from the recent S.A.M. national convention to local happenings. Thanks to all the members who spent time preparing the fabulous dishes we enjoyed. Of course our unending gratitude goes to Grill Master Joel and his family for hosting this fabulous event once again. —Craig Kunaschk
Al Baker Assembly No. 35 (usually) meets at 7:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month at the Milanese Italian Restaurant, 115 Main Street, Poughkeepsie, NY. Contact: www.compumagic. com/sam35 for more details.
37
tony clark and kozMo Denver, CO— The Mile High Magicians Society turned May into a Magic Month for Denver Colorado when we hosted a two-day Tony Clark event! Tony presented his wonderful “Timing is Everything” lecture to our club members on our usual meeting night and then offered his incred-ible Slydini Silks workshop to a lucky few on the following night. The lecture was informative and extremely useful, with mis-di-rection and timing cues being the center of every trick segment. We had a number of members who had never had the privilege of watching Tony work, and when Tony Clark works it gives you a hint of what it would have been like to watch the great Slydini work.
Tony Clark was one of Slydini’s last students; he taught the group of workshop participants just like the great Slydini would have. He made sure we all had each move in place before attempting to add more to it. He is a sensa-tional performer and a thought-ful teacher. It is easy to see why he was a Magic Castle Stage Magician of the Year nominee. Add that to a lecturer, author, as well as producer and star of his smash hit show Phantasy II at the Horizon Casino resort in Lake Tahoe. Tony’s delightful person-ality and extensive knowledge of
magic makes us want to spread the word and let our fellow magic clubs across the country know we give Tony Clark a gold star of approval.
One week later we hosted the clever and cunning street magician, Kozmo. This lecture is a one of a kind. It is not just in-teresting and factual; it is one of the most entertaining lectures available. To demonstrate his street magic, Kozmo actually sets up a street show. He had all of our membership follow him outside to a parking area where he went about building a crowd from not only us but those who were nearby.
To make it even more impres-sive, he used layman who worked around our meeting place to help him out by picking cards and such. Their reactions were unbiased and natural and a pleasure for a magic group to watch. The Mile High Members were then brought back in where we all had a chance to dissect his show.
The Mile High Magicians Society is a current club that is dedicated to the education of its member-ship. We like to think of ourselves as a front runner for magic clubs across America. Check us out! —Connie Elstun
Assembly 37 meets the second Thursday of the month at Riverpointe Senior center in Littleton Colorado. Contact Chad Wonder chad@ Idomagic.com (303) 933-4118 www.milehighmagicians.com for more details.
38
our august Meeting rocked!
kaNsas CitY, mO— The world’s most laid back magic club, SAMKC Assembly 38, held its August meeting in the beautiful subterranean (not really) theater of the majestic Westport
Cof-Jay Newby assisted by Joe Fuller
Tony Clark teaches Slydini Silks to the Mile High
Assembly News
feehouse. Twenty-two magi from across the land attended, including a few new faces.
After President Rod Sipe spoke of the upcoming Lawrence, Kansas, Buskerfest, Dan Garrett lecture, and the Masters of Illusion show, Shaun Rivera and Dennis Burks entertained us with tales from the international convention in Las Vegas.
After a short break, the magic began. Shaun Rivera performed a card at any number, a prediction in the form of an email, and trans-formed a dollar bill into a book of matches. Ryan Butler followed with a cool sucker card trick followed by the four Aces turning into the four Kings.
Jordan Byrd then did his memory routine. John Hicks entertained with a couple of card effects, both of which involved the deck turning into fifty-two duplicates. Rod Sipe displayed some memora-bilia, including signed items from Vernon, Thurston, and Blackstone Sr.
Not to be outdone, Bob Goodin turned four blank cards into the four Aces. Phil King performed a Larry Becker effect involving an electronic card shuffler, then followed with a teach-a-trick involving a Gemini Twins variation.
Laremy Schulze creeped us out with a double prediction involving auras and pulse rates. Gene Turner taught his version of the inimita-ble 21 Card Trick. Eric Price told a funny joke. Dennis Burks taught us a bit about safety by producing a cell phone from a jumbo card. If you are in the area, look us up!
Assembly 38 meets in the Westport Coffeehouse. Contact Rod Sipe [email protected] for more details.
52
MentalisM
saN aNtONiO, tX— August 2, 2012, Brother John Hamman Assembly 52 held its monthly meeting at LaMa-deleine Restaurant. President Paul Amerson called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. We had nineteen people in attendance, including members and wives. Two members, Paul Amerson and Michael Tallon, recently returned from the S.A.M. national conven-tion, and they reported on their ex-periences and highlights.
The theme for this meeting was
Mentalism. Starting off the open performances was Paul Amerson, who entertained with a Meir Yedid effect called Casino Prediction. Next up was John Murphy, who performed Droodles, followed by Dwayne and Drake Stanton, who did a little mind reading. Joe Libby performed Finish Line by Larry Becker and Lee Earl, and Ray Adams, with the help from Rocky Raccoon and Dahnene Moravits, did a Thought Transmit-ter effect. John Dahlinger did a great Cylinder and Coin and Chop Cup Routine, Michael Tallon en-tertained us with Casino Royale, Paul Mims did a puzzling Mental Speller, and Napoleon Savoy had us scratching our heads with Cubing. Many members of the assembly are looking forward to attending the TAOM in Houston, Texas, over Labor Day weekend.
The door prize winners for this meeting were Joe Libby, Doug Gorman, Ray Adams, Napoleon Savoy, and John Murphy.
Brother John Hamman Assembly 52 meets at 7:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month at La Madeleine Restaurant, located at 722 N.W. Loop 410. The res-taurant is inside Loop 410 on the access road between Blanco Rd. and San Pedro. For more informa-tion, contact douggorman@att. net.
56
august 2012 Meeting
DaYtON, Oh— Our August meeting was well attended by both members and guests. We did not have a business meeting due to our special guest lecturer Judge Ray Corns from Frankfort, KY. Ray’s lecture was very en-tertaining and informative and a great time was had by all. —Matthew David Stanley
Various Locations Contact Paul Burnham [email protected] for more details.
59
tuxedos to swiMsuits
pOrtlaND, Or— Summer is here and members of Assembly 59 have exchanged their tuxedos for swimsuits. We here in the Pacific Northwest (and in Portland, in particular), have managed to avoid the extreme heat conditions that have plagued other regions of the US.
Because we have gone dark doesn’t mean that members have curtailed their practice of the mystical arts. No, indeed! Instead, members have returned to practice basic skills, learn new effects, polish their presentations, and in many other ways improve their magic. Wait till September arrives; when the magicians fling wide the doors to their chambers the natives will all drop to their knees in amazement at the illusions they will experience. Be sure to be seated and buckled in lest you harm yourself in a fall.
We are particularly pleased to know that our own Whitney Adams, member of S.Y.M. 105, was the emcee for the Stars of Tomorrow program at the S.A.M. convention in Las Vegas. All reports indicated that she was amazing. At thirteen years old she has an amazing presence and a smile that wins friends wherever she goes – to say nothing of her ex-cellence as a magician.
Both our S.Y.M. assemblies have met regularly this summer. We are particularly happy to have mentor Tom Waldrop return to Salem S.Y.M. 140 after being away for some weeks due to a surgery. Tom is back on his feet and performing wonders anew.
August is the month of our annual picnic. Think paper plates, hot dogs, brownies, hamburger, mustard, ketchup, sponge balls, ropes, playing cards, and linking rings with just a hint of suntan lotion, and you’ll have a good idea of what it was like.
We return to our regular pro-gramming in September, when the scheduled event is “Teach-a-Trick.” Eight profes-sors will not only demonstrate an effect, but reveal and teach the secrets to the membership.
—Glen L. Bledsoe
Assembly 59 meets at the Beaverton Elks, 3500 SW 104th, Beaverton, OR 97005 on the 4th Wednesday of each month except for July and August. Contact Glen L. Bledsoe at: g l e n b l e d s o e @ m a c . c o m (503) 580-0502 www. sam59portland.org/ for more details.
71
VP leads Pack
albuquErquE, Nm—
The August 16, 2012, Assembly 71 meeting was a rain-soaked evening with a small turnout at the meeting. Our performers – a small but determined group – plowed forward and did a lot of magic. VP David Dunlop dominated the evening of performance with five effects throughout the evening. He began with a Barrie Richardson effect with matching jumbo cards effect and an old Jay Sankey effect with “hole” cards. David dragged out several old effects that were done very well: Card Thru Hanky and Escape Key, and he ended the evening with his very own sponge ball routine. Johnny Moon did safety pin magic, Jumping Gems, and Chinese coins. David Brahinsky did coin work, Coins Across without gimmicks, and the Johnson Hopping Half. Our visitor from the youth group who will turn eighteen very soon, Erinmarie Overstreet, showed us a couple of tricks. We hope she joins us in the S.A.M. adult club. I will be dried out from this event very soon. —David M. Brahinsky
Assembly 71 meets at 3201 Central Ave. Albquerque, NM Contact [email protected] 505-833-0155 for more details.
82
aldo & rachel coloMBini lecture
safEtY harbOr, fl— Sergeant-at-Arms Chris Ostrowski opened the meeting with the pledge of allegiance. We were proud to announce that Celeste Evans, one of the most famous women in magic, and a member of our club, was honored by the renaming of I.B.M. Ring 387. It is now the “Celeste Evans – Fraser Valley Magic Circle” in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Congratulations Celeste
MC Whitney Adams (photo by Glen Bledsoe)
Assembly News
Aldo and Rachel Colombini are a great magic couple. Aldo and Rachel are so energetic and enter-taining. They constantly tell jokes and hilarious stories of real life, while performing stunning magic.
They are keeping magic very affordable. Each item for sale was only $10. They have magic for all ages and every skill level. They even have two DVDs called
Gagbuster and Gagbuster the Sequel that are filled with gags and
silly stuff.
Rachel really impressed me when she performed a mental effect. A spectator shuffles the cards and the top nine cards are used. The spectator freely eliminates the cards he doesn’t want to use until only one card remains; it is the card Rachel predicted.
Aldo had some very simple ways to put a false knot in a rope that looked very convincing, even up close. Then he did Restless Colors. Four identical blue-backed cards are shown. Then they change to red, then green, and then yellow. The next time they are shown he had one of each color. Finally, they all changed to Aces.
If you have never seen Rachel or Aldo perform, you are missing a very fun opportunity. If you have seen them, it doesn’t matter, see them again. They keep the tricks and jokes fresh and new, so it is like seeing them for the first time, every time!
We have a great line up of magicians that you won’t want to miss: Cameron Francis - Thursday, October 18, 2012; Francis Menotti - November 15 2012; There will be no meeting in December; January 17, 2013 - To be Announced; David Stone - Thursday, February 21, 2013; Tom Craven - Thursday, March 21, 2013.
Assembly 82 meets the third Thursday of each month at Sheriff’s Youth Ranch in Safety Harbor Florida. Members only close up class at 6:30 PM. TBMC monthly meeting starts at 7:30 PM. Contact
Chris Ostrowski cmmagic@ verizon.net (727) 847-7837 www.tampabaymagicclub.com for more details.
88
august corn roast
aNN arbOr/YpsilaNti, mi— The Ann Arbor Magic Club held its annual Corn Roast in August at Faith Lutheran Church. We had chicken, corn, and more, plus all kinds of desserts! The weather couldn’t have been better. Members of the church congrega-tion were invited, so there were well over fifty people. After our meal we put on a nice magic show for everyone that stayed.
The performances began with Marvin Mathena (who turned a white silk and a green silk into the Michigan State college flag). He was followed by: Jim Placido (with his math-ematical rope routine), Dan Jones (with a great story/card trick), Randy Smith (who produced a basketball from a briefcase), Joe Fusco (with a card routine and a linking rope routine), Bill Brang (who magically solved a Rubik’s Cube), Tyler Sousa (with card to
mouth and a gospel trick), Marvin Mathena (with a Gospel Bag that changed when turned inside out), and George Honer (who produced a fir tree, streamers, silks, and water from a can; he then found a signed quarter in an amazing way). It was a great show and the best way to end the summer months! —Randy A. Smith, Secretary, AAMC
Hank Moorehouse Assembly 88 meets the second WEDNESDAY 7:00PM Faith Lutheran Church, 1255 East Forest Ave, Ypsilanti, Michigan. Contact Randy A.
Smith randy.remarkable@ gmail.com (313) 562-3875 www. aamagic.org for more details.
95
las Vegas 2012
VaNCOuVEr, CaNaDa—
Assembly 95 was well represented at the 2012 S.AM. national con-vention in Las Vegas. Attending the national council meeting as delegates were Rod Chow (RVP Canada, who was re-elected for a second term as RVP Canada) and Lon Mandrake (Assembly 95 president). Both Henry Tom (with his polished dental act on stage) and Steve Dickson (with his famous Coin in Bottle in close-up) had splendid performances in the contests. Enjoying the conven-tion were Ray Roch, Treasurer Jens Henriksen, and Dean Shawn Farquhar and family. Volunteer-ing as one of the bus monitors to assist in the loading of buses to and from the theater venues was Rod Chow. Rod also performed close-up magic on the streets of Las Vegas as part of the Fremont Street Magic Experience on the final evening of the convention.
One of the highlights of the con-vention was the proclaiming of David Copperfield as the King of Magic by National President Vinny Grosso, and the following onstage personal interview of Copperfield by Stan Allen. The Copperfield show at the MGM was absolutely incredible and cutting edge high tech. In contrast, the Mac King show at Harrah’s was visibly free of technology, yet hi-lariously and magically entertain-ing.
The Golden Nugget Hotel was excellent as a convention venue, other than that the main convention theater was located in another part
of the hotel away from the dealer’s room, which made room hopping rather difficult. The downtown location was exciting and offered a variety of inexpensive casino eating options. The 2012 S.A.M. convention in Las Vegas was a big success, with fantastic registration numbers, talent, learning, shows, and overall wonderful camarade-rie and enjoyment. —Rod Chow
The Carl Hemeon Assembly No. 95 meets the first Tuesday of each month at members’ homes. Contact Rod Chow rod@rodchow. com (604) 669-7777 www.sam95. com for more details.
104
gathering at the golden nugget
WitCh CitY-salEm, ma— During the summer months of July and August, when Assembly 104 holds no formal meetings, there is usually little for a secretary to report. Happily, this season was marked by a couple of events to magically bolster the days of lawn mowing and occa-sional gigs.
From July 22 to 26, one thousand magicians filled the lecture halls and rooms of the Golden Nugget Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the Society of American Magicians national convention. Among them were ten members of our Salem Assembly: Bob Forrest, Kathy Forrest, Tucker Goodman, Eddie Gardner, Pete Jackson, Steve “Doc” Rogers, Rob Snider, Doug Rickenbach, Blake Barr, and Evan-Buso Jarnis. Three Barr children (Matthew, Blake and Diana) were also present to represent S.Y.M. Assembly 124.
It was a whirlwind of activities in the classic manner of conventions (sleep skipped, meals gulped), made all the more enjoyable by the company of so many friends. The theme of the week was the S.A.M. tribute to legendary performer David Copperfield and his desig-nation as Magician of the Century. It was a historic event made even more impressive by an interview that revealed a disarmingly humble and pleasant man within the legend.
The free show David performed for us and the one provided by the wonderful Mac King would have been enough to justify the trip to an environment running five degrees cooler than hell. But so many wonderful shows, lectures,
Aldo & Rachel Colombini Lecture August 2012
Bill Brang as Dilbert
From left: Ray Roch, Rod Chow, Lon Mandrake & Jens Henriksen spending a relaxing
moment during the Las Vegas S.A.M. convention at the
Assembly News
contests, and the atmosphere of the S.A.M. functioning full tilt at its national best made for a week of unforgettable memories for all of us to take back to Massachu-setts.
Back home, on Sunday, August 5, Assembly 104 President Bill Jensen’s idea of expanding the annual S.Y.M. 124 Competition into a full, joint S.A.M. 104/S.Y.M. 124 Summer Magic Fest was realized on the grounds of Camp Evergreen, in Andover, Massa-chusetts. Jim Loscutoff grilled for the substantial gathering of adults and kids who participat-ed in the magic flea market, hot dogs, and swimming. Afterwards, Past S.Y.M. 124 President Angela DeAngelis competed against Matthew Blake on stage. Angela gracefully shook Matt’s hand when the crowd awarded him the prize of assembly president for the coming year.
The event was a clear success and is projected as the first in a series of future Summer Magic Fests thanks to Bill Jensen’s vision and the generous donation of time and effort by the Loscutoffs. —Bob Forrest
Information on SAMCON and on Witch City SAM Assembly 104 can be found at the website: www.sam104.com. Assembly 104 meets the first Wednesday of each month, except July and August, at 7 pm at the First Baptist Church of Salem, 292 Lafayette Street, Salem Mass. Contact Bob Forrest [email protected] (339) 227-0797 www.sam104.com for more details.
110
aFter Meeting
NEW CumbErlaND, pa— The August after-meeting contest theme was to be Destroyed and Restored; but, with so few
people present, it was decided not to have a formal contest. However, since two members had prepared effects, we were happy to see what they brought.
Lou Abbotiello had a bag of short lengths of rope that magically transformed into a
three-foot-long single rope with the wave of Lou’s hand over the bag. Rod Ries donned a professor’s lab coat and transported us back to our high school biology classes to learn the dissection of a frog. Using an X-Acto knife to remove the plastic appendages of a small green frog, Rod told us about one of the wonders of nature – regen-eration. Certain lizards can grow new tails, frogs can grow new limbs, and even humans grow whole livers from the partial livers transplanted from donor humans. As he talked of these things, Rod placed the frog body and its parts into a glass, added a little “secret fluid,” and covered the glass. When he finished his talk he lifted the cloth and removed a whole frog from the glass. The restored frog did have one peculiarity, which we can not reveal here.
Jack Ritter presented a workshop on “Impromptu Magic,” wherein the magician uses available props or those that might be easily carried in his pockets. Jack told the story of a local robbery where the lady whose purse was snatched managed to bite the thumb of her attacker; she supplied a good de-scription of the attacker to the police. The description seemed match “handsome” Jack, who revealed a large bandaged thumb (a plastic pipe fitting wrapped with white duct tape to resemble a bandaged thumb). Jack passed out short pieces of dowel and demon-strated how they could jump from one thumb crotch to the other when the secret was known. The same thing applied to “twisting” a pen between the hands so the hands moved from thumb up to thumbs down without releasing the pen. There was the bread roll zombie, the lemon under the paper napkin, and salt shaker through the table, followed by the napkin mouse and babies in a cradle. I’ve probably missed a couple here, but everyone had a great time learning what they didn’t know and helping
others learn what they already did know or had just figured out. Thanks Jack for a fun-filled evening!
Joe Homecheck, SAM Assembly 110 meets 2nd Thursdays, 7:00pm, Doc Holiday’s Restau-rant, Limekiln Road, New Cum-berland, PA Email Secretay@ centralpamagic.org for more in-formation.
112
Money Magic
CONCOrD, Ca— After Bill Sparacino had won the attendance reward, Scott Alcalay performed the Trick of the Month, a ten-card effect called Merlin’s Mental Miracle.
Bob Holdridge began the on-theme performances with an effect called Always Face Up in which five alternately face-up and face-down one-dol-lar bills suddenly all turn face up. He followed that one with the mismatched bill effect called Quartered before borrowing a fifty-dollar bill to demonstrate his Counterfeit Detector; unfor-tunately, the bill must have been bogus, since the detector shredded it. Never lend a bill to a perform-ing magician.
Germar was next up with the sudden trading of places between a five-dollar bill in his hand with a one-dollar bill in a spectator’s hand.
President Doug Kovacich displayed several gigantic ten-dol-lar bills. He proceeded to visibly change four of those ten-dollar bills into four one-hundred-dollar bills (a Danny Archer effect called Big Cash). Then Fred Nelson mi-raculously changed a Mexican coin into a key.
Bob Steiner, performing
off-theme, made an invisible silk handkerchief appear and then disappear at his fingertips. Roy Porfido next proceeded to twist a fifty-cent piece through the middle of a foulard without making a hole in the beautiful silk. He then dem-onstrated how to use a magic wand to make a coin disappear.
Bill Sparacino did a sleight-of-hand routine using a dollar-sized coin, which proceeded to change into a giant sized Chinese coin. Ric Ewing then demonstrated Beswitched, using a fifty-dollar bill and a one-dollar bill. It had much the same conclusion as Germar’s effect.
Sir Lantz was next up. He pulled a fifty-cent piece out of a mostly invisible coin purse before shoving that coin into an empty beer bottle – through the bottom of the bottle. President Doug came back for a little off-theme magic: a Crystal Silk Cylinder effect combined with the ketchup-bottle-vanish-ing-from-the-paper-bag routine.
Rod McFadden was next with a silver dollar and a penny. True to a prediction that had been inside a visible envelope during the whole routine, a spectator selected the penny, face down. Finally, Zappo performed a very funny and magical coin routine with a visiting gentleman who has had a long-time interest in magic. The effect ended with a previously solid coin with the number two and a diamond cut out of it, thus matching a randomly selected Two of Diamonds. —Larry “Zappo” Wright
Diablo Assembly 112 meets on the third Wednesday of every month at the Round Table Pizza in Concord. Contact Doug Kovacich at douglassthemagicman@hotmail. com (925) 435-4824 http://sam112. com/ for more details.
115
Magic teach-in
C h a r l O t t E s V i l l E , Va— Attending our August meeting were George Buckley, John Coleman, David and Nathan Clauss, Dan Hall, guest Dick Hil-debrand, Ed, Ashley and Elizabeth Schmitz, and Wes Islei. The theme of the evening was works in progress or things on which you wanted feedback on. During our brief business meeting we finalized our plans for our performance at a
Assembly 104 does Vegas
Douglass the MagicMan performs a mystery with
Assembly News
September farmers market in the Forest Lakes subdivision. This will be a way to highlight what we do and perhaps grow member-ship in our young club. Most of evening was spent on a teach-in to the youth members, and I’m sure something new was learned by all. David Clauss performed and demonstrated four money-themed effects; handouts were provided to the attendees for future reference. The effects included Torn and Restored Bill, Six-Bill Repeat, a bill transposition, and Inflation – a Clippo type of effect from the
Mark Wilson Course in Magic.
Youth members were challenged to create their own presentation for one of these effects for the next meeting.
Trying out some new material was Dan Hall, who did a rings-across routine. With his routine, Dan is definitely asking the question “what else can this item be used for” and it was nice to see this creative spark. John Coleman was also very helpful in coming up with a possible story line for Dan’s magic. John’s suggested storyline seemed to fit well with the action of the magic and will get away from the “describing what’s happening magic” that is all too common. Dick Hildebrand talked briefly about how he started as a boy performing magic and shared with us a photo album of his show. George Buckley closed the evening with a very polished ring and string routine.
The fall will bring more fun things for the club and hopefully more members or visitors to our group.
Assembly 115 meets on the first Friday of the month at 7 PM at the Forest Lakes Pavillon Bldg.
118
Magic in new haMPshire
Nashua, Nh— Assembly 118 continues to keep busy performing for local charities and community events. Members donated several performances to Camp Allen, a camp for special-needs patrons of all ages. The assembly also performed at the Lyndeborough Community Day Show in Lyn-deborough, NH. At our August assembly meeting, Lord and Lady BlackSword (Joseph and Kathy Caulfield) and Bob Bodman gave
reports on the S.A.M. national convention in Las Vegas.
Assembly 118 meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the Nashua Church of Christ, 97 Farley Rd., Nashua, NH. Our venue rotates, so contact us first. Contact Robert Granville [email protected] (603) 505 8749 http://sam118.com for more details.
120
Magic with nuMBers
ChampaigN, il— The 2013 Central Illinois Magic Get-Togeth-er will be held on Saturday May 4, 2013. So far we have Janie Taylor, Dan Garrett, Andy Dallas, and S.A.M. President Chris Bontjes on board for the Get-Together. We also have Ron London, Dan Garret, and Andy Dallas as dealers.
Jeff Harpring was in attendance at the meeting representing our I.B.M. territory.
Also mentioned was an upcoming convention for gospel magic hosted by Duane Laughlin in Michigan. Michael gave a report on the book Real Secrets by David Stone. He said it was a great fun book. Professor Higgins gave a report on Amaze with Spectacle by Jimmy Talksalot. Jim Percy mentioned that Derren Brown has a show now available to us to stream from the Hulu website. The official meeting adjourned and then the floor was open for Magic with Numbers (or anything else).
JR started off with a Bill Goldman number trick in which he had Dane think of two dice to create a two-digit number. Dane then got a word from that number, which JR successfully identified. Chris Bontjes was up next and performed Carl Foul’s calculator card trick. Andy Dallas performed
Bill Goldman’s Mental Yarn with Ashlin as his volunteer. Next up, Professor Higgins dazzled us with a flash of flame before he performed a classic three-card trick with a twist.
Andy Dallas once again took the floor and performed Ray Mangela’sn No Way Jose. This trick is based on Tannen’s Burmese Bangalor; Greater
Magic calls this the 10 Card Trick,
and it was also published in Expert
at the Card Table as the Trick of
Ten, naming this the oldest known card trick.
Andy Dallas, upon request from Jim Percy, brought out and discussed use of the Kozar pre-diction pad. Rob Thomas was in attendance and preformed Rob Thompson’s Card to any Number. Next, Rob presented his famous Samoya. Jeff Harpring closed out the magic by performing It’s Done with Mirrors.— Jim Percy
Andy Dallas Assembly 120 3rd Wed. 7pm, (except Nov. and Dec.) For location call Jim Percy at 217-494-2222 or Ken Barham Sec, 2318 Winchester Dr, Champaign, IL 61821. 217-841-5616 email: [email protected]
129
auction pENsaCOla, fl— The GCMG August meeting was called to order at 7:55 p.m. We started a little late to give members time to arrive; twenty-plus members fought the blinding rain to attend.Gene Burrell got the members ready for a great night of magic with a teach-in.
The business end of the meeting went quite quickly; topics were the Annual Show in November, club blog, Shoot Ogawa in Fort Walton, and the standard reports.
In member news, Al Grimm is not doing well and Ronann Carrero is leaving the club. He is going to college in Baltimore at Johns Hopkins; he will be missed. Thanks to Betty Broomall for setting up the snack table every month!
We held our monthly raffle with over twenty magical items up for grabs; some really nice stuff was handed out to winning members, Thanks for the donations.
We then held an auction. Members Dale Bosarge, Nathan Nickerson, Dave Kloman, Brian
Ward, Gene Burrell, and a few I can’t remember (sorry) all brought their slightly used magic that they weren’t using anymore and we auctioned it off to the highest bidder with ten percent of the proceeds going to the club. A lot of magic changed hands.
With only a few minutes left before we had to vacate the meeting room, the meeting was adjourned. Many members left with some new magic that will entertain once again. Thanks to all who attended and supported the club. If you know someone who is interested in magic, let us know (w w w.g u l fcoa st m ag ic.com) or bring them to a meeting. —Bill Metsch
The Gulf Coast Magicians Guild Assembly 129 meets the 3rd Thursday of the month at the Bay View Senior Center, Pensacola, Florida. At 6:45 pm.
136
silVer anniVersary stars oF Magic show!
tuCsON, aZ— The meeting got started a few minutes late this month, but that was because everyone was deep in conversa-tion throughout the room.
First item on the agenda: our very own Man of Mystery, Randy Atha, has made arrange-ments for our close-up and parlor contest to be held in November at O’Shaugnessy’s again this year; he has also volunteered to be the producer of the contests! Thanks, Randy.
We decided to have the initiation ceremony in October, possibly to coincide with Magic Week. We need volunteers to perform at some of the local hospitals during Magic Week. First VP George Franzen provided a newspaper story on our very own amazing and kind-hearted Jay Knapp. Way to go, Jay!
Ticket sales for the silver an-niversary Stars of Magic Show generated a lot of important and informative reports from several people who are active in putting this incredible show together. We have hundreds of beautiful posters and many hundreds of post-card size flyers/handouts to help with ticket sales. Several people spoke about the importance of contact lists, friend lists, email, and Facebook as ways to let people
Ken Wilson performing at the Lyndeborough Community
